Joshua Bennett

A Slippery Rock man pleaded guilty to assault Monday, after being charged with stabbing another person in the buttocks.

Joshua T. Bennett, 27, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault before Butler County Judge William Shaffer.

The plea agreement calls for a sentence of 6 to 12 months in the Butler County Prison, followed by probation. He will also be ordered to pay restitution, fines or complete community service.

He is scheduled for sentencing June 27.

State police initially also charged Bennett with felony aggravated assault, which will be dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Police said the charges stem from an Oct. 12 incident at an apartment in the 600 block of Grove City Road, Mercer Township, where an apparent drug deal went wrong.

When police arrived after being called for a disturbance, they learned that “an altercation took place over a drug exchange,” according to court documents.

Authorities said they later found the 19-year-old victim at a home on East Main Street Extension in Pine Township, Mercer County. The young Grove City man told police that Bennett had stabbed him in the backside.

Investigators suspect a kitchen knife was used in the assault, documents said.

A Superior Ambulance crew was called and tended to the victim, who appeared to have a 2-inch cut. Paramedics described the injury as “minor.”

The teen was taken to Grove City Medical Center for treatment of unspecified injuries.

Bennett continues to be held in the Butler County Prison on $10,000 bail pending sentencing.